The Grand Finale
by starfilled
Summary: In a nutshell? Contestshipping. Its been years since Ash and Brock had left for Sinnoh, and Max decided to travel by himself; Leaving May all alone. After being independent for a while, it had changed her by a bit, but someone noticed. (( I cant do summaries, *cries* ))
1. Intro Part 1: The Solution

**~ Hoenn's Annual Grand Festival ~**

 _For the next 3 days, All Pokemon Coordinators either new or old are able to enter Hoenn's Grand Festival at Slateport City to win the Ribbon Cup prize! Make sure you have your five ribbons, or you won't be able to register at the counter. If you are planning on entering make sure it's not too late, because we do not accept any later entries. If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the staff._

 *** 50th Grand Festival Celebration ***

 _It is astounding see that it is finally our 50th year of holding our Grand Festivals! In honor of this occasion, on the night before the Appeals portion we will be holding a party for this splendid event. If you would like to attend, please come to the building next to the arena on the evening taking place before the festival. All participants of the tournament are welcome to this celebration._

Sapphire blue eyes scanned the poster intently. As the Pokemon coordinator sat waiting patiently in the Pokemon Center, the notice for the Grand Festival in Slateport City caught her eye. She tapped her fingers against the seat cushion, unable to stay completely still with the thought of her Pokemon being away from her fresh in her mind.

"I still can't believe that it's already the 50th Grand Festival being held in Slateport," a gentle voice interrupted the coordinator's thoughts.

She snapped out of daze in an instant and quickly faced a pink-haired Nurse Joy holding a tray of six nurtured Pokemon resting within their pokeballs. The nurse had noticed her staring at the poster.

"You've got the look of the coordinator in those eyes. Will you be entering the tournament?" Nurse Joy asked as the girl carefully retrieved her Pokemon.

"Thank you Nurse Joy," she smiled. "Right now, I'm sort of just traveling all over Hoenn again, so I'm not really sure if I'll be entering the Grand Festival. I haven't gone to it in a few years. The first time I had entered was five years ago when I was only eleven and traveling with some of my friends. I've entered the Grand Festival in past years, but I kind of just stopped recently."

"Well, you can still enter by tomorrow if you change your mind. I heard that the party before the festival is going to be quite amazing," Nurse Joy beamed while clutching the now empty tray against her spotless uniform.

"I'm not really a party person," the coordinator chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, really?" Nurse Joy questioned surprised. "In my opinion, you strike me as someone outgoing," Nurse Joy eyed the girl as she got up from her seat.

"When I was younger I used to be really outgoing. I'm not as loud and bubbly as I used to be, but I'm still a klutz," the coordinator replied half-heartedly with her small smile still on her face.

"People change," the nurse said beaming. "I'll be on my way now. I wish you and your Pokemon a safe journey."

The coordinator thanked Nurse Joy and they parted ways. She stepped outside to be immersed in a peaceful night, where everything seemed okay. But as she walked alone in darkness, she knew that she needed to find someplace to stay for the night.

Suddenly, a small idea grew in the coordinators mind, making her frown. She clenched her shaky fists and tried to block the thought out of her mind.

 _Go._

The solution was right down the road, shining like the light of a thousand stars. Only the light wasn't coming from the stars in this night.

Instead, it had come from the bright glowing logo of the Grand Festival.


	2. Intro Part 2: Flowering Memories

"Alright Miss, you're all set! The festival starts in two days, so you will be staying in a room down the hall over there. Also, the party is tomorrow evening if you want to attend," a Grand Festival staff member explained cheerfully from behind the desk.

The brown-haired coordinator smiled and nodded before heading down the hall to find her room. After mindlessly walking around, she found her room and went inside relieved. The first thing she did was collapse on the room's bed. She smashed her head against a pillow and let out a muffled scream.

 _What am I DOING?_

Still hitting her head with a pillow, thoughts raced through the coordinator's mind.

 _I haven't been to Grand Festival in forever... so why am I here now?_

It had been 5 years since May Maple had entered the Grand festival...and had fun. When Ash and Brock left for Sinnoh, they had left May on her own adventure, along with young Max. After a long year of training, May gathered enough courage to enter the Grand Festival again. Max was the only one who came to watch her, (since her parents couldn't come due to work and home issues) which kind of disappointed May, but nevertheless she competed with the confidence given by her friends, and wise words from previous rivals. But as she competed that year, a familiar reminder burned in the back of her mind.

" _He was right about one thing, you shouldn't have trusted him. Stop listening to advice from other trainers! Have trust in your Pokemon and do what you know in your heart that's right."_

May's heart started pounding, and got distracted from the competition. She ended up losing the second round, and the Ribbon Cup. As she returned her Blazkien into his pokeball, she glanced over at the crowd in their seats. People were standing and screaming for joy – they wanted to see the Grand Festival continue. But none of those people stood out to May. None of them matched who she was looking for.

Walking back to her seat to find Max, flashes of green and purple made her feel nervous.

 _None of them belong to him..._

"May, what happened out there?" Max's squeaky voice pierced through May's thoughts.

"I-I don't know," May stammered, and a blush heated her face. Knowing his sister ever since he was born, a mischievous grin grew onto Max's face.

"I know what happened," Max said slyly as he watched May move away from a girl with green eyes and a purple coat. _Yup, it all makes sense._ Max thought.

"You're looking for Harley!" Max yelled out sarcastically. May's eyes widened.

"EW! No! Where did you get _that_ idea?" she balled her fists and her face grew red in anger, replacing the red of embarassment.

"I'm just kidding May," Max said chuckling while pushing his black glasses up.

"I know you're expecting so see Dr-"

"WAAHHH! Stop it! I don't want to hear it!" May covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly. When she uncovered both, she saw Max laughing all over the place.

"Come on Max, people are starting to stare," May looked around worriedly. Max patted May on the back, (almost her height now) and together they walked out of the arena.

"Don't worry sis, we'll come back next year," Max reassured May with a grin.

"Maybe he will too," he added, smirking.

May wasn't paying attention to that last part. She was looking back at The Grand Festival going on without her.

 _"I hoping to see you here too next year, May. You were good. Take care,"_

 _Then where were you?_

May felt saddened at the thought. She could hear the audience shouting and explosions from strategic Pokemon moves. A happy mood filled the air and soon enough reached May. She faced forward then looked over at her younger sibling.

"Yeah. Next year." she breathed hopefully.

But next year, only May came back. She stood shifting around uncomfortably in the middle of the arena, starting the first round of this year's annual Grand Festival. It was a sea of unknown faces in the crowd this time. Max was somewhere else in Hoenn, experiencing his own journey. He wanted to study Pokemon by himself, leaving May to travel alone. Max apologized, and offered to pause his work to see his sister compete, but she denied. Now standing strong, May had a determined look in her eyes.

 _If Max can go it alone, then so can I!_

May didn't even make it past the Appeals portion. She ran out of the arena, trying to hide her tears and not even trying to search through the crowd for that familiar face. Sitting on a bench in the arena and wiping her face, she saw her opponent. She seemed to be waiting for someone. Curiously, May watched her. About a minute later, a boy she didn't know came up to her opponent and he gave her a small bouquet of roses.

"Aw, these are for me? You didn't have to," her opponent smiled.

"Of course I do," the boy insisted and smiled back.

May stared silently at the roses in her opponent's arms. An old memory poked through her mind.

" _I suppose this rose is for Beautifly right?"_

 _"Yeah, something like that..."_

May instantly stopped trying to remember and stood up. She congratulated her opponent and complimented her roses. Then she left the Grand Festival.

During her next year, May felt truly alone; but it was partly her fault. She stopped trying to keep in touch with her family, and haven't heard from Ash, Brock, Dawn, or any of her other friends in months. While being independent, she had matured. By fifteen, May learned the responsibilities of being by herself and slowly lost the wild, playful bandanna-wearing kid everyone knew. She grew quieter, (since she had no one to talk to) and trained pretty often. The only thing that never changed about her was her love for her Pokemon. May still cared for them greatly, and trained them right. Eventually, she became a great coordinator – just not very known.

One day May decided to visit a nearby city. While visiting, she saw a poster for the 49th Grand Festival. She didn't think twice about it; she wasn't going to join. She didn't want to.

 _"You always have to keep trying to get better, or someone will pass you by."_

May didn't want to try anymore.

Now here she was; sixteen years old and taking out her frustration on a borrowed pillow.


	3. Chapter 1: Reflections

Chapter 1: Reflections

May stared at her clone in the mirror. It had been a while since she had gotten a long look at her reflection, and hardly even noticed what changed about her (though there weren't that many).

Her favorite jacket didn't fit her anymore, so she bought another one and wore a dark blue shirt under it. She changed her old sneakers with a pair of boots, replaced her childish skirt with regular black shorts, and the yellow belt she used to have had worn out, so her mom had gotten her a messenger bag as a gift.

The only things May had kept were her gloves and red bandanna, which was now tied loosely around her neck instead of her head. Her brown hair still remained messy and brown, but was slightly longer since it was growing out during her journey. Another thing that stayed the same was her favorite color. The jacket that May had bought was the shade of red she had always loved.

May thought silently as she looked at herself in the mirror. Rose red. Her jacket was so similar to the color of real roses, it always reminded her of them. That wasn't always a great reminder.

She continued to stare at her reflection. The color she was looking at resembled roses quite much -

Maybe even too much.

 _Red roses. Roses...he used to...give me roses._

 _No...they weren't for me...they were for...Beautifly.._

" _Thanks for the rose..."_

 _"It's not for you, it's for your Beautifly! It looks like the coordinator still has a lot of training to do."_

"They were for Beautifly," May concluded out loud and stepped away from her mirror. She got ready for bed, and then laid down.

 _So I really am joining the Grand Festival again this year._ May thought as she stared up at the ceiling.

"...But why?" she whispered and closed her eyes.

May dreamed about the same thing she had been dreaming about for years. It was the only thing on her mind, and it still was to this day. Her one and only rival. His shiny green hair he used to flip (which annoyed May so much), his sneaky green eyes, his stupid smirk, his purple jacket, and the mischievous tone in his voice. She remembered all of this about him, but not his name. May felt extremely guilty about it. She had known him for so long, and he had helped her throughout her early coordinator stages; and how does she repay her sort-of friendly rival? By forgetting his name. For once, May was upset for having a horrible memory.

In May's dream, it was a scene showing him giving her a red rose. As she grabbed it from his hand, the dream scene suddenly shifted into something else. The rose was replaced with a glass cup, and instead of her rival in front of her, it was Solidad. She sat at a table across from her.

 _Wait a second...I remember this place...this night!_ May thought in her dream as she looked around at the familiar surroundings.

"...he's the type who never listens to anyone else's advice," Solidad was in the middle of a statement.

"So we end up talking about other coordinators we might've seen in performance. And at some point, he started in on you." Solidad continued, "You and only you."

May's heart started beating faster.

"See, I think since he's been watching you grow stronger in your performances, he's gotten feelings for you."

Feelings for you.

Solidad's words echoed throughout May's dreamscape.

 _Feelings for me? What kind of feelings? Why..? No..that's not right. He's my rival, and one of my good friends. He couldn't have feelings for me, he doesn't..._

 _Right?_

May's dream had shifted again. This time, she was standing in a completely white world, with only a mirror in front of her. Looking in the mirror, was just her reflection.

"Why did you go?" her reflection spoke.

"Wh-what?! " May jumped in surprised and backed away from the mirror.

 _Why is my reflection-_

"Talking? I'm your self-conscious, May. But when you wake up, this will feel like a dream." the reflection interrupted.

May didn't know what to say; she was too surprised and confused.

"Why did you come to the Grand Festival? Do you want to see him?" May's self-conscious asked.

"N-no!" May denied hesitantly and began to blush.

"You _do_ want to see him. That's why you came. You want to see him again."

"If you already know the answer, then why are you asking me?" May blushed fiercely now, yet she hadn't done so in a while.

"Because you always wondered if he _ you. And you won't accept the fact that you _." May's self-conscious's sentence seemed distorted, "You don't want to give up on him."

"I-I don't understand. I came here because I needed a place to stay. I'll just quit the tournament or something-"

"LIAR!" the self-conscious said sharply.

"I don't even know who he is!" May cried full of frustration, sorrow, and curiousity, "I don't even remember his name!"

Her reflection chuckled.

"Of course you do. Stop denying it. It's wedged in the back of your mind, so you can't forget."

it reassured. May shut her eyes tightly and covered her ears. Her face was burning red.

"You really don't remember? Not even his name? Come on, he's Dr-"

" _He's not here!"_ May shouted out loud as she awoke from her sleep. She touched her face and it felt hot and stained with a few tears, which made her eyes widened. She couldn't remember the last time she had been crying.

"He's not here." she repeated shakily and wiped her face before laying down again.

 _"Where are you going now?"_

" _To the Johto region, to enter some contests,"_

 _"...Seriously?"_

 _"...Yeah."_

"He's not here." May repeated firmly this time and slowly closed her eyes.

She slept through the night with no dreams.


End file.
